Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Scotland’s parliament has voted overwhelmingly to recognize same-sex
marriage, drawing an expression of keen disappointment from the Scottish
Catholic bishops.

By a vote of 105-18, lawmakers followed the path of England and Wales,
which have already approved same-sex marriage. Scotland had previously
allowed for registration of civil partnerships by homosexual couples.

Archbishop Philip Tartaglia said that he did not think the bill passed
by parliament would require Catholic priests to officiate at same-sex
marriages, but he was not certain that the Church would remain
untouched.

“We cannot exclude the eventuality that, in the future, some
individuals will initiate legal action against a Catholic priest or the
Church because they won't accept to celebrate gay marriages,” he said.